Office of Psychological Science and Practice

 

WHO WE ARE

We are psychologists who promote community care. With a focus on diversity, inclusion, and equity, the Office of Psychological Science and Practice (OPSP) supports psychology in promoting clinical and community care, education and scholarship, and research missions of the Department of Psychiatry and affiliated institutions. The Office identifies and encourages opportunities for interdisciplinary and translational research, innovative, evidence-based clinical practice and policy, and interprofessional training, as well as help to integrate psychologists into leadership roles. 

Executive Committee for OPSP

The Executive Committee for OPSP is the shared governance model designed to ensure that all relevant stakeholders have a voice in decision-making processes. This group fosters inclusivity and a more democratic environment where diverse perspectives are considered in shaping policies and practices, leading to better decisions that reflect the needs of the Psychologist community.

About OPSP

Office Executive Committee Members

125 Psychologists working in the Department of Psychiatry are within the following divisions:

  • Adult Psychiatry
  • Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
  • Addiction Science Prevention and Treatment
  • Community, Population, and Public Mental Health

Specialties*

  • 108 total active Grants  
  • 161 Peer-reviewed journal articles and chapters  
  • 294 Oral or poster presentations at national/regional/local meetings  

*Data current as of 9/24

 

 

WHAT WE DO

With a focus on diversity, inclusion, and equity, the Office of Psychological Science and Practice (OPSP) functions to: 

  • Support psychology in promoting clinical and community care, education, scholarship, and research missions of the Department of Psychiatry and affiliated institutions.  
  • Support opportunities for: 
    • Evidence-based clinical practice 
    • Professional training
    • Leadership and Professional Development 
    • Interdisciplinary and translational research 

 

MORE ABOUT US AND WHAT WE'RE DOING

 

Cool Stuff Adult Division Psychologists are Doing

 

Advanced Training & Practice

  • Christina New- selected as the Research and Evaluation Committee Fellow, Collaborative Family Healthcare Association
  • Stephanie Lehto- accepted for the International OCD Foundation for this calendar year
  • Daren Norris- working on his Prescribing Psychologist certification
  • Aimee Sullivan- expertise in Family Focused Psychotherapy for Bipolar disorder
  • Karyn Swinson- expertise in the Gottman Method of couple’s therapy
  • Kelsey South & Amy Dreier- working on certification for Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy/CO Psilocybin Clinical Facilitators License
  • Holly Gerber- recently completed 2 advanced trainings for treating chronic pain/illness- Pain Reprocessing Therapy & Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy
  • Samantha McBride- advanced expertise in EMDR, including “train the trainer”
  • Dana Beall Brown, Nicole Reynolds, Tyler Branagan & Christina New- national recognition for expertise in pre-surgical evaluations
  • Noa Heiman- training therapists to discuss and address climate anxiety in therapy

 

Teaching and Education

  • Many AD/Dept psychologists teach courses to and supervise psychotherapy for psychiatry residents- Noa Heiman, Kelsey South, Christina New, Amy Dreier, Megan Ross, Karen Frankle, Holly Gerber, Rob Rosenthal, Steph Lehto
  • Dana Beall Brown teaches OB residents
  • Kait Ross and Michelle West provide lectures for Med Students
  • Dom Chao has presented as a speaker at 2 Denver High Schools re: Careers in Psychology

 

Advocacy

  • Fernand Lubuguin- extensive experience and expertise with mentoring diverse students/trainees and in diversity education
  • Christina New- wide-ranging advocacy for healthcare for gender diverse individuals on several committees/boards
  • Laurie Ivey- member, APA Specialty Integration Care Advisory Group & advocacy for serving gender diverse patients in primary care
  • Aimee Cruz- started and leads the APA C/L Consult Liaison Interest Group
  • Winnie Hunter- presented at the National Perinatal Conference on Trauma Informed Care in OB/GYN
  • Michelle West provides extensive community education regarding identifying early signs of psychosis
  • Holly Gerber served as an advisor at a meeting with the Assistant Secretary for Health re: behavioral health care for long COVID
  • Tyler Branagan was selected for an American Society of Transplantation task force for living donor incentives
  • Dom Chao is Vice Chair of the APA Committee for Early Career Psychologists and a representative to APA Division 22

    Innovation

  • Kait Ross, Christina New, Noy Phimphasone-Brady, Winnie Hunter- delivery specialized interventions for women’s health/sexual health via various clinics and are working to start a project to implement and evaluate trauma informed care plans
  • Kelsey South & Amy Dreier- co-developing Unified Psychotherapy for Trauma

     

Journal Publications

  • Steidtmann, D., Raffel, K. E., Green, J., MacPhee, E., Nagle-Yang, S., Schwenk, S., Cooke, D., Santisteban, A. C., & Dempsey, A. G. (2024). Using Technology to Support Measurement-Based Care: Design and Implementation of the Measurement-Assisted Care Program. Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.), appips20240135. Advance online publication.  https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20240135
  • Laird, C. W., & Dreier, A. S. (2024). Rapid-Access Focused Treatment: Clinical Considerations for Brief Psychotherapy in Outpatient Psychiatry. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20230030

Media Features

  • Dr. Liz Chamberlain was featured in a Fox31 news article titled "Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo seeks treatment at Walter Reed for depression".
  • Dr. Ayelet Talmi was featured in the latest episode of the Pediatric Psychology Podcast, which highlights the advice and perspectives of mentors in the field of pediatric psychology.
  • Dr. Bruno Anthony was featured in a CU Anschutz News Q&A discussing ongoing efforts to prevent youth suicides while providing expert insight on the critical need for mental health support for this population.

Awards

  • Laura Anthony, Julia Barnes, and Jonathan Safer-Lichtenstein gave an invited training to all 400 school psychologists and social workers on 10/23/24 on Unstuck and On Target!, an executive functioning intervention designed for schools—in this case, Denver public schools.
    • Visit Unstuck and On Target to find new no-cost CE training and parent resources to support children's executive functioning (created and tested with a PCORI COVID Supplement).

Grants

  • Bruno Anthony, PhD, received R34 grant funding from the NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH for his project titled "Practice Facilitation to Enhance Implementation of a Pediatric Suicide Prevention Care Pathway."

Upcoming Lectureship

  • The Zimet lectureship (speaker: Matthew Aalsma, PhD) is scheduled for April 14-15, 2025.
    • CHCO Grand Rounds (virtual-only), April 14, 12-1 pm
    • Department of Psychiatry (hybrid), April 15, 12-1 pm

Upcoming Conference

  • The American Psychological Association (APA) conference is coming to Denver, Colorado, on August 7-10, 2025.

Past Presentation

 

 

 

 

Office of Psychological Science and Practice (OPSP)

 

 

Questions? Contact: Shaleeta.Flagg@cuanschutz.edu

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